1983 Fiat 126

• FSM-Fiat built in Poland. Left-hand-drive and first registered on 07/07/1983
• Finished in a light Satsuma Orange with a smart tan/biscuit vinyl interior
• The original owner, a retired Polish Army officer covered 27,000 miles in 25 years
• Indicated mileage is 31,472 supported by ownership blogs and MOTs
• V5c, owner's handbook and an interesting history file
• Currently a non-runner but probably hasn't been started in a number of years

NB. On offer from a private collection, this vehicle has not been used for some time. It is a non-runner and is strictly sold as seen.

The Fiat 126 (Type 126) is a four-passenger, rear-engined city car, introduced by Fiat in October 1972 at the Turin Auto Show as a replacement for the Fiat 500. It used much of the same mechanical underpinnings and layout as its Fiat 500 rear-engined predecessor with which it shared its wheelbase but featured an all-new bodyshell resembling a scaled-down Fiat 127. Engine capacity was increased from 594cc to 652cc at the end of 1977 when the cylinder bore was increased from 73.5 to 77 mm. Claimed power output was unchanged at 23bhp. The Fiat Polski 126p was produced in Poland from 1973 until 2000 and was identical to the original version when first launched except for a higher chassis, a modified grille on the rear and front indicators. Over the 28 years of production, the vast majority of these little cars hailed from Poland.

This example is left-hand drive and was built by FSM-Fiat in Poland in June 1983 finished in Orange with a Tan/Biscuit vinyl interior, undersealed from new and equipped with FSM mud flaps, rubber mats, a variable speed wiper and a radio. It was first registered on 7/07/1983 to a retiring army officer to be used occasionally during his retirement. There is quite a lot of history with the car and we understand that it was fitted from new with a 600 (594cc) Italian engine as the first owner was high-ranking within the Communist Party and was offered a better deal (the 600 had been replaced by the 650cc at that stage so who knows?). We believe that the little Fiat covered just 27,000 miles before being imported to the UK in 2008.

From the file, we learn that during its first UK owner's tenure he removed the engine and fitted a new clutch, electronic ignition, fuel filter, front spindles, hub carriers, shock absorbers, brakes and rear wheel cylinders. New lights were fitted and he added a Fuel Cat to the tank (details in file) and the car now runs on unleaded fuel. The Blaupunkt DAB Radio/CD player is a more recent addition.

The indicated mileage is 31,472 which is almost certainly correct given the history file/old MOTs etc. It's accompanied by its V5c, owner's handbook, the history file and has a fire-extinguisher under the bonnet. It's currently a non-runner but that's probably a result of sitting in a collection for 6 years. With some interesting provenance, in this condition and at No Reserve this little Fiat seems a cracking proposition.